First: Hasmonean-Era Building Discovered in Jerusalem

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced, Tuesday, that in recent months, remains of an impressive building from the Hasmonean period (second century BCE) have been unearthed in excavations that the authority is directing in the Giv‘ati parking lot, located in the City of David in the Walls Around Jerusalem National Park. An IAA media release says the excavations are sponsored by the "Friends of City of David".

According to the release, "The building’s broad walls (more than one meter thick) are made of roughly hewn limestone blocks that were arranged as headers and stretchers, a construction method characteristic of the Hasmonean period." It continues, "Although numerous pottery vessels were discovered inside the building, it was mainly the coins that surprised the researchers. These indicated the structure was erected in the early second century BCE and continued into the Hasmonean period, during which time significant changes were made inside it."